Simulated shooting game with concealed striking portions



J. ZIMMERMAN May 9, 1967 SIMULATED SHOOTING GAME WITH CONCEALED STRIKING PORTIONS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR \IQC/f Zimmerman ATTORNEY Filed Nov. 10, 1964 y 1967 J. ZIMMERMAN 3,318,599

SIMULATED SHOOTING GAME WITH CONGEALED STRIKING PORTIONS Filed Nov. 10, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F/G. I. 4 H" W' H" 555% P T, ii 7. y; 1

Jaak Z'mmerman ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,318,599 SIMULATED SHOOTING GAME WITH CON- CEALED STRIKING PORTIONS Jack Zimmerman, Roaring Brook Lake, Putnam Valley, N.Y. 10579 Filed Nov. 10, 1964, Ser. No. 410,133 6 Claims. (Cl. 273101.2)

This invention relates to shooting games, and particularly to game devices adapted for use by children.

It is an object of this invention to provide a game containing a replica of a shooting implement adapted to strike coactively positioned targets without the use of projectiles. And in the accomplishment of this aspect of my invention it is my objective to provide a floor visibly supporting one or more targets, and having forwardly thereof a toy gun or similar shooter movable into various firing positions with respect to a selected target, there being means disposed below and hidden by the floor which, upon an accurate aiming of the shooter, strikes the target and thereby displaces it from its original position in the line of fire.

It is another object of this invention to provide means, in conjunction with the apparatus above described, for positioning the target either completely exposed to view, or partly obscured, thereby requiring different degrees of skill and aiming accuracy. And in this aspect of my in vention it is a further object to provide means for varying the extent of exposure of a given target with respect to the shooting implement.

And it is my objective to provide a readily fabricated game having the aforesaid features and advantages, and which can be produced at a sufficiently low cost for premium distribution.

Other objects, features and advantages will appear from the drawings and the description hereinafter given.

Referring to the drawings,

FIGURE 1 is a plan View of a form of game according to my invention, a part being broken away for clarity, the full lines showing the target striking member and associated parts in normal inoperative positions, the dot-dash lines showing the elastic element of such member in retracted and projected operative positions, and the striking member in a pivotally rotated aiming position.

FIGURE 2. is a somewhat enlarged longitudinal section of FIG. 1 taken along line 22,' parts being broken away, the striking member being shown in broken lines in its retracted and projected positions, the projected position being that at which the striking member is at the beginning of its operative engagement with the target.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal section of the rear portion of the device showing the striking member in its fully projected position and the target of FIG. 2 being toppled from its original position.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged section of FIG. 1 taken along line 44.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary section of FIG. 1 taken along line 55.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary section of FIG. 1 taken along line 6-6.

FIGURE 6a is an enlarged fragmentary section of FIG. 1 taken along line 6a6a.

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary transverse section of a modified form of this invention, the section being taken along line 77 of FIG. 9.

FIGURE 8 is a section substantially like FIG. 7, but showing the target in a more exposed position.

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary section of FIG. 8 taken along line 9--9.

FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary plan view, partly in section, of another modification of this invention, the

Patented May 9, 1967 bulls eye wings being shown in full lines in their fully retracted hidden positions, the dot-dash lines showing said wings in released intermediate and final frontal positions after being hit by the striking members shown in dot-dash lines.

FIGURE 11 is a section of FIG. 10 taken along line 10-11.

FIGURE 12 is a fragmentary side view of FIG. 11.

In the form of my invention illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 6, a floor 15 is supported by the side walls 16 and 17 attached to the base 18, the respective forward and rear portions 19 and 20 thereof extending'beyond the respective front and rear edges 21 and 22 of the said floor 15. The arrangement is such as to provide an open-ended compartment 23 accommodating the elongated striking member generally designated 24, the forward portion 25 of said latter member extending through the front opening 26 of said compartment 23, and the rear portion 27 of said member 24 extending, when in its projected position (see FIG. 3), through the rear opening 28 of said compartment.

The said elongated striking member 24 comprises the elongated striker support 29, the cross-piece 30, the elastic member 31 supported by fasteners 32 and 33 at opposite ends of said cross-piece 30, and the striker 34 comprising an elongated relatively stiff wire positioned over said support 29 and attached at 35 to the midpoint of said elastic member 31. In the form shown, said elongated striker wire 34 slidably extends through a plurality of longitudinally aligned loop guides 36 attached to and extending upwardly from said elongated striker support 29, the latter being pivotally supported at 37 on the said base 18. Positioned upon and secured to the forward part 25 of said elongated support 29 is the figure support 38 upon the upper surface of which is disposed the figure 39 representing a person aiming the gun 40, the barrel or aiming member 41 of which is in the same vertical plane as the longitudinal striker wire 34, said gun being positioned above the said floor 15. The said figure support 38 has a passageway 42 therethrough for accommodating the forward portion of said striker wire 34 and said quide elements 36, said striker wire extending forwardly from said figure support 38 to provide a free portion 43 for manual grasping.

At the rear of the floor 15 are supported the three targets 44, 45 and 46, the drawing showing each of these to be a human figure. The figure 44a of target 44 is fully exposed to the simulated line of fire from the gun 40, that is, there is no obstruction between the barrel 41 and the visible target 44a. The figure 45a of target 45 is partly hidden by the prop 47 representing the trunk of a tree mounted on floor 15 in front of the target 45; and the figure 46a of target 46 is partly obscured by the prop 48 representing a rack also mounted on floor 15 in front of target 46. The target 44 has a platform 49 supporting the figure 44a thereabove, said platform resting upon the rear of the floor 15, there being a hidden target bar 44b extending down from said platform 49 behind the rear edge 22 of said floor 15. The said targets 45 and 46 have similar platforms 50 and 51, respectively, and downwardly extending hidden target bars 45b and 46b, respectively. It will be noted (see FIG. 4) that the target bar 44b is substantially of the same width as the head of the visible target figure 44a and disposed directly therebelow; that the target bar 45b is narrower than said target bar 44b, being substantially of the width of the visible portion of the target figure 45a and disposed directly therebelow, that is, olfset with respect to the prop 47 and the body portion hidden thereby; and that the target bar 46b is substantially of the width of the visible .3 head of the target figure 46a and disposed directly therebelow.

In the operation of this device, the forward portion 43 of the striker 34 is grasped, as indicated in FIGURE 2, and then pulled back to its retracted position indicated by dot-dash lines, whereby the elastic member 31 is correspondingly pulled back to its retracted strained position indicated by the forwardly dot-dash lines in FIG. 1. The said member 24 is then rotated about its said pivot 37by lateral pressure either on the forwardly extending portion 43 of the striker or On the figure 39until the barrel 41 is in the desired line of fire position with respect to a selected target. Since said barrel 41 is, as aforesaid, in the same vertical plane :as the longitudinal striker wire 34, the accurate aiming of the barrel will bring the striker member 34 into striking alignment with the downwardly extending hidden target bar of the selected target. Thus, if the gun barrel 41 is aimed at the visible target figure 44a, the tip 34a of the striker 34 will be in adjacent striking alignment with the hidden target bar 44b. Upon a release of the said forwardly extending striker portion 43, the striker 34 will be snapped rearwardly by the elastic member 31 into its projected position to dislodge the target from its upright position on floor 15. As shown in FIG. 2, the tip 34a of the striker 34 is in engagement with the hidden target bar 44b during the operative projected movement of the striker, the target being caused to topple down, as indicated in FIG. 3 showing the striker in its extreme rearward limiting position, the elastic member at this point being illustrated by the rearward dot-dash position thereof shown in FIG. 1.

If the visible portion of the target figure 45a is selected as the target, a more accurate aim is required, since a' relatively small target is presented-both in the form of the said exposed portion of figure 45a and in the form of the narrow hidden target bar 45b. And if the target figure 46a is selected, the gun 40 must be accurately aimed at the exposed head portion in order for the striker member to strike the hidden target bar 46b.

In the modification shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, a prop 52, shown as representing the trunk of a tree, is positioned at the back of the floor 15 and having a portion thereof extending down to the base 18, thereby presenting a barrier wall 52a' below the floor 15, but leaving the laterally flanking rear portions 53 and 54 open and unobstructed. The target 55 is disposed in back of' said prop 52, the upper target portion 55a being above the floor 15 and the hidden target bar 55b being below said floor and equal in width to the width of said upper target portion and in vertical alignment therewith. The striker support 29, striker 34 and guide loop 36 operate as in the embodiment above described. If a relatively difficult target position is desired, the target 55 is moved so as to expose only a portion of the head, as shown in FIG. 7, whereby only a comparatively small portion of the hidden target bar 55b is exposed, the rest being hidden by the barrier 52a. The

- striker 34 is then operatively swung so that it is in striking alignment with the exposed portion of 55b, such as to the projected striker position indicated by dot-dash circle 34. For an easier target, the target member 55 is moved to its greater exposedposition shown in FIG. 8 where more of the lower target portion 55b is exposed to the action of the striker 34.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated in FIGS. to 12, the base 18a supports a bulls eye target member 56 made of resilient material, said target member comprising a preferably flat front panel 57 with two laterally opposite flaps 58 and 59 adapted to be folded back and frictionallyretained in rear hidden positions by the respective lips 60 and 61 disposed at the rear of said wall 56, as indicated in FIG. 10. Extending downwardly from said flaps 58 and 59 are the two respective hidden target bars 62 and 63 positioned below the floor a and adapted to be struck by the striker member 34 manipulated in the manner hereinabove described. The said 10, whereupon the flap carrying the struck target bar will be frictionally forced away from engagement with its retaining lip, 60 or 61 and, due to its resiliency, will swing forwardly to the respective dot-dash positions shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, thereby exposing the point-indicating marker, such as 64a or 65a.

In the various forms of my invention hereinabove described, the actual target striker is hidden flom view;

yet the player operates a shooting instrument that is adjustably movable foraiming at visible targets. Though no projectiles are used, accurate aiming results in hits of visible targets. Thus the game can safely be played by children. can be cheaply produced, making it suitable for premium distribution.

In the above description, the invention has been disclosed merely by way of example and in preferred manner; but obviously many variations and modifications may be made therein. It is to be understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to any form or manner of practicing same, except insofar as such limitations are specified in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a shooting game, a floor, a target supported by said floor and having an upper visible portion disposed above said floor and a lower hidden portion disposed therebelow, a movable aiming member positioned above said floor and movable between positions in and out of aiming registry with said visible portion, a striking member positioned below said floor and connected to and movable with said aiming member, said striking member having a striker element movable between retracted and projected positions, said striker element being so propor tioned and positioned that when it is in a predetermined.

projected position it is engageable with said hidden target portion when said aiming member is in operative aiming registry with said visible target portion, said target having a platform resting upon said floor, said hidden target portion being a bar extending down from said platform and being positioned directly below and of the same width as a predetermined section of said visible target portion.

2. In a shooting game, a floor having a front anda rear edge, a target comprising a platform resting upon said floor adjacent the said rear edge thereof, a visible target portion extending above said platform and a hid den target bar extending down from said platform below said floor and behind the said rear edge thereof, a pivotal-ly mounted aiming member positioned above said floor adjacent the said front edge thereof and movable between positions in and out of aiming registry with said visible target portion, a striking member positioned below said floor and connected to andmovable with said aiming member, said striking member comprising an elongated striker support extending from the region of said front edge of said floor in a generally rearwardlyidirection, a striker wire extending longitudinally along said support, and guide means on said support in slidable engagement with said wire, said striker wire being movable betweenretracted and projected positions and being so proportioned and positioned that when it is in a predetermined projected position it is engageable with said hidden target bar when said aiming member is in operative aiming registry with said visible target portion, and manual grasping means on said striker wire positioned forwardly of said front edge of said floor.

3. In a shooting game, the combination according to And because of its simple construction, it

claim 2, and elastic propelling means attached to said striker wire and proportioned and positioned to be operatively strained when said striker wire is in its retracted position.

4. In a shooting game, the combination according to claim 2, a cross-piece affixed to said striker support, and an elastic band anchored to opposite portions thereof and having its mid-portion attached to said striker wire, whereby when said striker wire is in its retracted position said elastic band will be in a condition of strain.

5. In a shooting game, the combination according to claim 2, and elastic propelling means attached to said striker wire and proportioned and positioned to be operatively strained when said striker wire is in its retracted position, the rear end of said striker wire being in adjacent striking alignment with said hidden bar and said latter bar being in intercepting relation with the projected path of said striker wire when said [aiming member is in said aiming registry with said visible target.

6. In a shooting game, the combination according to claim 2, elastic propelling means attached to said striker wire and proportioned and positioned to be operatively strained when said striker wire is in its retracted position, a figure member connected to said aiming member, a figure support positioned upon and secured to the forward portion of said striker support and having therein a longitudinal open-ended passageway, said figure member resting upon said figure support, said striker Wire extending through said passageway.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,324,189 12/1919 Bremer 273101.2 2,834,598 5/1958 Weiublatt 273101.2

RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner.

ANTON O. OECHSLE, Examiner.

20 M. R. PAGE, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A SHOOTING GAME, A FLOOR, A TARGET SUPPORTED BY SAID FLOOR AND HAVING AN UPPER VISIBLE PORTION DISPOSED ABOVE SAID FLOOR AND A LOWER HIDDEN PORTION DISPOSED THEREBELOW, A MOVABLE AIMING MEMBER POSITIONED ABOVE SAID FLOOR AND MOVABLE BETWEEN POSITIONS IN AND OUT OF AIMING REGISTRY WITH SAID VISIBLE PORTION, A STRIKING MEMBER POSITIONED BELOW SAID FLOOR AND CONNECTED TO AND MOVABLE WITH SAID AIMING MEMBER, SAID STRIKING MEMBER HAVING A STRIKER ELEMENT MOVABLE BETWEEN RETRACTED AND PROJECTED POSITIONS, SAID STRIKER ELEMENT BEING SO PROPORTIONED AND POSITIONED THAT WHEN IT IS IN A PREDETERMINED PROJECTED POSITION IT IS ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID HIDDEN TARGET PORTION WHEN SAID AIMING MEMBER IS IN OPERATIVE AIMING REGISTRY WITH SAID VISIBLE TARGET PORTION, SAID TARGET HAVING A PLATFORM RESTING UPON SAID FLOOR, SAID HIDDEN TARGET PORTION BEING A BAR EXTENDING DOWN FROM SAID PLATFORM AND BEING POSITIONED DIRECTLY BELOW AND OF THE SAME WIDTH AS A PREDETERMINED SECTION OF SAID VISIBLE TARGET PORTION. 